Season 3 of The Mandalorian is back again this week with quite a unique episode. Titled “The Convert,” this episode takes a break from Din and Grogu’s whacky Mandalorian adventures and focuses on a former Imperial Scientist instead. There’s still some Mandalorian action, but it isn’t the focus this week. Instead, we see what happened to some former Imperials that didn’t explode on the Death Star.

Chapter 19 picks up where Chapter 18 left off, with Din and Bo leaping out of the water inside the mines of Mandalore. Din eventually wakes up, and Bo asks if he saw anything alive in the water. After Din says no, he wonders why Bo would ask. Sneaky Bo-Katan brushes this off, suggesting getting back to her ship. If I were a betting man, I would say that she is planning to tame the Mythosaur and become the leader of Mandalore again. On their way back to Bo-Katan’s place, they’re attacked by TIE interceptors.

After some fancy flying and Din jumping out of a moving ship (don’t try that at home), the two are able to drive off the interceptors. This victory is short-lived as TIE bombers destroy Bo’s place. Bo chases after them in anger but is stopped by Din, who points out that more fighters are coming and convinces her to dip. What I found interesting about this is how the other TIE interceptors attacked. If you’re a fan of Star Wars: Rebels, you might notice that the formation is similar to one used by a certain blue Grand Admiral (we never saw him die).

After all this excitement, the episode pivots hard. So hard that we end up on Coruscant. I don’t know why these Star Wars shows keep returning to Coruscant, but I’m not complaining. Remember the scientist guy from season 1? The guy with the glasses who was performing experiments on Grogu? He does have a name, and it’s Penn Pershing (say that five times fast), and he’s now trying to help the New Republic. The New Republic offers to help former Imperials integrate into the new society. And they do this in the most humane way possible, making them all wear the same clothes and giving them numbers to identify them.

Now, I’m not feeling bad for the former space Nazis, they suck major balls, but this approach by the New Republic felt very Empire-like. After deciding he wanted to continue his research, Pershing teams up with a former soldier of Moff Gideon called Elia Kane. They sleuth their way onto a ship to get lab equipment but are caught. And to no one’s surprise, the suspicious friend betrays Pershing (she’s definitely still working for Gideon). Pershing is then strapped to a machine straight out of Men in Black, and Elia fries his brain (total dick move).

The last part of the episode has us rejoin Bo and Din. After escaping the Imperial remnants, they arrive back at the Mandalorian hideout. Everyone is a bit skeptical of Din’s claim that Mandalore isn’t a death trap (for the most part). It probably didn’t help that Paz Vizsla was asking all the questions. Seeing as Bo-Katan was also there, it must’ve been awkward, to say the least. Din is eventually allowed to talk to the Armorer, and she verifies what Din says. And with that, Din is now recognized as a Mandalorian again; hooray! And because Bo also took a dip in the special bath AND hasn’t removed her helmet, she is also considered a Mandalorian by this cult; double hooray! Now that everyone is best friends, hopefully, we’ll get to see this group of Mandalorians have another dope fight scene like the one in season 1.

Chapter 19 of The Mandalorian was an interesting episode. The beginning and end of the episode were more of that Mandalorian goodness. But the middle section felt more like an episode of Andor. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed seeing how the New Republic is handling things now that the Empire is gone. It just caught me off-guard. Regardless, this was another enjoyable episode of The Mandalorian, and I can’t wait for next week!

Did you watch Chapter 19? What did you think about it? Did Pershing also remind you of Syril from Andor? Let us know in the comments below where we can talk about how the New Republic looks like the Empire in a different font.